Love from the Owl's Beak
by Forbittenlove
Summary: HGDM. What started out as a simple inter house unity project soon blossoms into danger filled romance and passion. Draco and Hermione have to waltz around Voldemort, his father, and unknown perils, can their love survive? [rated M for later on]
1. Dear Tenacious Twit

**A/N: so, I'm doing this for a friend who dared me I could not write a HP Fanfiction with the following in it (Good thing she doesn't know I only like HGDM storys, huh? –grins evilly-)**

**List:**

**Letters (as in post from owls)**

**Hermione and Draco together**

**Harry dressed as a chicken**

**Zambini with a rubber duck**

**Pansy caught trying to snog Snape (mwuhaha, I'll have fun with that one)**

**Glitter glue**

**One WILD, bad-ass party**

**Blue-lensed sunglasses**

**Alright, let the fun begin :o**

Draco tugged inadvertly at his school robes and checked once more that his shiny new 'Head Boy' badge was securely on his chest before he pounded his way down to the Great Hall, they had been back at Hogwarts for a little over three weeks, and there had already been 6 fights between the Slytherin and Gryffindors in the seventh year alone.

Dumbledore had called Granger and himself from their common room (yeah, he had to share with _her_) to discuss the current problem of inter-house unity (or lack there-of). So there he had been, listening to Granger babble on about some anonymous letter-sending plot. Draco found it as a load of centaur shit, but Dumbledore obviously did not, he sat there simply soaking it all in like a sponge or some other unattractive creature, liking the idea Granger was feeding him.

So, here he was, in his whole school attire, heading for the Great Hall with none other than the mudblood bitch herself (Granger) to announce to the student-body about 'our' great idea for inter house unity. Centaur-Shit, the lot of it.

"Fellow students," Granger began after they had reached the table where the teachers sit and had been granted use of Dumbledore's chair in the exact center, her voice magically magnified. "For the next month you will all be given a number which will correspond with another student in another house, you will owl them back and forth with the use of an owl not belonging to either of you, to hide identities, you will be using owls provided by the school that only you and your partner will know belongs to you, these letters will not be sent at meal times, they will be sent to your dormitories, and we will know if you break any rules . If you fail to send your letters the pair of you will be given suspension from Hogwarts for two weeks," At this everyone, including the Slytherins, gasped, "And 100 points will be deducted from each house," she continued boldly. From the death glares shot to her from the Slytherin table, Draco was surprised that Granger had not stopped or faltered in her speech, as she was now glaring at Pansy.

Draco decided to block Hermione out (something no one else would do, afraid of the consequences) since she had rehearsed her speech on him after all, he knew it by heart (in case she forgot or got flustered). I know, shocking Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger being somewhat civil? Not a chance, not a chance in hell. The only reason he was kind to her was that he knew for a fact that Dumbledore would renounce his badge if he did not pull through with this.

"Furthermore, once you pull your slips of paper you are not to tell anyone," she looked heatedly at Weasel-bee and Pothead when she said this, they turned their heads away swiftly, somewhat embarrassed, "what your number is, this is completely confidential, even once this letter-sending is over you are not to reveal who you are unless you intend to keep correspondence afterwards, even after finding out who the person is. You are all to choose your slips and then you are dismissed to your dormitories." She finished a distinct finality to her tone.

Everyone waited for Draco and Granger to exit the room before they followed, close at the Head Boy and Girl's heels. They swiftly came upon a magically enlarged goblet, where an almost-clear liquid resided, is seemed to turn quickly from crimson to blue to green to yellow and back again over and over again, but Draco did not care about the liquid, he quickly snatched his hand into the cauldron and smirked at the piece of paper in his hands, how… fitting.

In a carefully scripted handwriting his parchment said '69'. He strolled over to the great oaf, Hagrid who was behind a screen concealing about 200 owls behind.

"Malfoy," He grunted. Draco merely bobbed his head once before looking at the numbers on the owls, he walked over to the one with the '69' written on it's nameplate and looked it up and down, it was white with grey flecks through it's feathers, it had piercing amber eyes and it looked intelligent – they might just get along. He looked at it and said 'Draco Malfoy' a bit lazily before offering it his finger and stroking its head once, it gave him a less-than-affectionate nip on the hand before he strolled away, back to his dormitory.

Draco looked at his paper once again and scowled. It was faintly red, if he had not been looking for a color he would not have seen it, god damn it, his partner was a Gryffindor.

. - . - . - .

Hermione watched Draco's retreating back as she scowled slightly. Does that boy ever listen to her? No, why would she think he ever would?

She sighed and the second years next to her looked up at her with worried expressions, she smiled at them and waited for all of the students to pick their numbers. Once they were all done she reached into the goblet and took out the last number in the shining liquid.

The paper was slightly tented with a green color. Great her partner was a Slytherin.

She flipped the parchment over to look at the number, it read '69' in large looping letters.

. - . - . - .

Draco flopped down in his bed in the Head dormitories and stared out at the wall.

He decided he would go ahead and write a letter to the insufferable Gryffindor that he got as a partner.

_Dear insufferable twit, _he began, but he crossed that out hastily, trying to find a better approach.

Not too long after he had scribbled out _Dear tenacious Gryffindor_, _Dear stupid git_, and _Dear obstinate fool_ the owl he had seen earlier zoomed down onto his bedclothes, shaking feathers onto his silver and green sheets. Draco scowled before lifting the bird gently off his bed and over to his desk, where he gently unwrapped the letter on the owl's leg.

He absentmindedly stroked the bird's head as he opened the letter. His finger stopped mid-stroke as he read the letter, anger began to boil behind his eyes, they changed from the usual steel blue to a stormy grey as he read the letter.

_Dear intolerable malevolent Slytherin,_

_I'll keep this short and to the point, since there is a very good chance you don't even know what 'intolerable' or 'malevolent' means. I really do not want to spend my perfectly good time corresponding with an unintellectual git of a Slytherin, but there's no choice. So do me a favor and think of something remotely smart to say before you write a letter to me. I'll do you a favor an answer what I bet is on your mind: No, I am not a pureblood, since that's all you people care about._

_-A very mad Gryffindor_

Draco could literally feel his temper flare as he read farther down the letter; how DARE they say that he is not intellectual? He was probably smarter than all the little Gryffindors combined – except maybe Granger. He grabbed his eagle-feather quil from the desk and a fresh piece of parchment and he began to scribble out a reply to that hot-headed correspondent of his.

. - . - . - .

Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, her Transfiguration homework spread out across her lap when the post owl returned. She looked at it, eyes wide with surprise. She had not expected any of the Slytherins to be able to figure out half of what she had written, let alone think of a comeback before dinner time tomorrow, she had obviously under-estimated this one.

She unwrapped the parchment from around the owl's leg and set it gently onto her comforter – she'd get rid of the feathers later. She offered the owl a treat before heading over to her desk and read the letter. She began to scowl as she read farther and farther in the note.

_Dear tenacious twit,_

_I can bet you almost anything that I am smarter than you are. And I also have more brain capacity than the size of a pea, just because other people in my house are stupid pureblood gits does not mean that I am. Just because my father believes that if you are not pureblood means that you aren't worth anything more than dirt does NOT mean that I do, and I would prefer not to be stereotyped. Especially by some Gryffindor who does not even know me, and I advise that if this correspondence is going to work, then you are going to have to give me a little more credit. I might even give you the benefit of the doubt if you take back all the vulgar things you said about me in your last post._

_-A Slytherin who is smarter than you think_

Hermione looked down at the paper in alarm. A smart Slytherin, now that she had to see, but for now she would keep writing, and soon she would figure out who this supposed 'smart' student really is.

. - . - . - .

Draco waited impatiently for a new letter full of insults – if there was something that he could do it was insult someone. And if they planned on insulting his hell yes he would insult back, but instead of a long letter dropped off by the post owl it came swooping in, dropping a thin note and flying back out before Draco could do anything.

He looked down at his paper and read what the Gryffindor had to say, he laughed once, he had to admit, this Gryffindor had spunk. Maybe, just maybe they'd get along.

_Fine, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself, but you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into._

Was the reply. Draco did not know how true that statement was.

**A/N: hope it's good so far, you know how everything is a little slow at the beginning…**


	2. I fought a Troll in the Black Lake, Sir

**A/N: Alright, here's chapter 2 of Love from the Owl's Beak.**

**I'd love some headers to include if anyone thought of a good one (tenacious twit, etc.) those kind of things.**

**Wanna help me decide? I don't know if I want Draco to find out first or Hermione. I'm thinking Draco.**

**I'm sorry I spelled Blaise's last name wrong in the previous chapter, it is supposed to be Zabini. Sorry!**

. - . - . - .

Draco swiftly shot a glance around the Great Hall before he dashed out to an abandoned corridor to take the message from his post owl's leg. He had seen the owl tapping the glass of one of the Great Hall windows and he looked at it excitedly.

. - . - . - .

Draco did not notice the twinkle in his headmaster's eyes or the small glance shared between Professor Snape and McGonagall as he hurriedly left the hall.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other stupidly and Goyle shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe someone slipped him some instalax from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

Crabbe merely grunted before lunging back down at his breakfast and eating heartedly.

Hermione speared another sausage cheerily, glad that her correspondence was finally opening up – never suspecting who her correspondence secretly was.

. - . - . - .

Draco ripped open the letter hurriedly, impatient to read what it said. They had been sending letters for a week and generally they averaged around ten letters per day, sending each other snide remarks (in a joking manner) and sending challenges about the other person's intellectual statute. They also never refrained from their name-calling in the addressing of 'to' and 'from' but they were less rude to some extent.

This was one of the reasons why today's letter had been so… astounding when he had first read it.

Not once since the beginning of the letters had they said anything about their personal lives, the only thing he knew for a fact was that his partner was a Gryffindor. He was also pretty sure it was a girl (from the neat handwriting) and he knew that they had a vast intellect.

He read the letter one more time before scribbling out a response. The note read:

_Dear minutely tolerable being,_

_I've been thinking, I know that you are different than other Slytherins, it is easy to tell that just from reading your very first letter, but I would really like to get to know you better, and I am sure you'd like to get to know me better. In this letter I'll tell you some personal things (yet, not trivial) about myself, and I can hope you will send me one with the same kinds of information. After that maybe we can progress into slightly more personal questions._

_Here goes nothing._

_I am in the seventh year, in Gryffindor (obviously), I have three best friends, two of which are also in seventh year, my favorite class is Arithmancy. My favorite color is teal blue and I love anything sparkly. Oh, and I'm a girl if you haven't figured that out yet._

_-Your impatient Gryffindor associate_

So she wanted to get to know more about him huh? Draco pondered this for a minute, he would answer her certainly. But should he tell this girl – his only true friend other than maybe Zabini – about the true Draco, have her be the only person other than his mother and Zabini, that he let see through his 'tough guy' façade or does he tell her about the cold, icy Draco – the exterior he so wanted to shed.

The slight lurch and drop his stomach seemed to make when he thought of this gave him his answer and he turned back to the owl, ready to make his letter when the bell rang for him to go to classes.

He cursed under his breath and stalked off to Double Potions, his first class of the day.

Draco sent the owl on its way with a wave of his hand, yet the owl simply sat there and watched as he stalked off.

. - . - . - .

A minute later none other than Hermione Granger jogged out of the Great Hall, headed for the potions hallway.

Her (and Draco's but she didn't know that) post owl hooted to her softly, and she turned around stroking its feathers softly before checking to see if it had any post on its leg. Looking disheartened, she gave it a small owl treat and sent it on its way.

Hermione then descended the slightly moist stairs that lead down to the dungeon. She never noticed the two pairs of eyes following her – one pair deep chocolate brown, the other bright green.

. - . - . - .

"See you later Hermione!" Ginny yelled, after waving over her shoulder to her best friend. She sent a swift glance over to Blaise Zabini from the Slytherin table before skipping through the double doors of the Great Hall out into the bright light.

She heard a noise and turned around to see Blaise pretty much on top of her. "You know, they make robes to make girls _less_ sexy, so how come you make me feel this way with your clothes _on_? And robes of all things?"

Ginny giggled. Blaise was her boyfriend of a month, she had told no one, not even Hermione, and he likewise hadn't told anyone. They were afraid of what people from their houses would think.

Without caring about lessons or the consequence of what would happen if Filch caught them, Ginny pulled Blaise into an abandoned broom closet in the deserted corridor.

As soon as the door shut she jumped on him, her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his head in for her to kiss.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before they had to come up for air, over her haggard breathing (and Blaise's) she had heard someone in the corridor.

Ginny's curiosity got the better of her and she put a finger up to her now-slightly-swollen lips before pulling the door open just enough so that they could see who was in the corridor.

Her breath caught in her throat and she breathed, "Malfoy…" lightly her tone malicious, but Blaise had heard her none-the-less.

He looked over to her and whispered in her ear lightly while gently making circular patterns on her back, "Bloke's not all that bad you know, he's had a hard life… He's not the way he lets on."

Slightly dazed from Blaise's antics Ginny simply nodded as she watched Malfoy read a letter from an owl perched on the windowsill next to him. _Holy Merlin! That looks like the owl Hermione uses!_ Ginny thought suddenly, but she dismissed the thought almost as soon as it had entered her mind – she was simply being paranoid.

The bell signaling they had five minutes until classes sounded and Malfoy cursed loudly before retreating to the staircase for the dungeons, located just around the corner. They continued to watch – not being able to come out due to the flocks of students leaving the Great Hall – until they saw Hermione come, about a minute after the bell had sounded. She walked straight over to the owl and stroked its feathers lovingly before checking for a letter on its leg, after not finding one, hurt evident in her eyes, she walked down the staircase to potions.

Blaise and Ginny simply looked at each other – both remembering the nice things they had heard from their respective best friends about the correspondence they had. Neither of them knew the other was supposed to be their worst enemy, but now their best friends knew.

"We need a plan." Ginny said, finality in her tone.

"But you need to get to class." He said, speculation in his voice.

"I have Trelawny first, I could just tell her that my inner eye decided to grant me with a visit on my way up to her tower and then feed her some bullshit about Harry drowning, or some other terrible misfortune for him." Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

Blaise snorted and nodded his agreement.

"What about you?" the red-head asked.

He shrugged before saying, "I have Snape first, I could probably tell him that I was in the middle of the Black Lake and I got in a fight with a Mountain Troll and he would simply say 'don't let it happen again'."

She smiled at him and they began to let their plan unfold – if this worked not only would Draco and Hermione get to know each other _outside_ their letters, their friends might just accept _their_ relationship also.

This is perfect. Ginny thought with a sigh.

**A/N: Okay, so let me know what you think. I'm thinking about how much they're going to ask each other before they know who the other person is, I was thinking it would be easier if they asked when they knew each other though, I don't know, send me ideas!**


	3. Author's Note

**_Author's Note:_**

**Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated in a while, and it's childish to say, but it's NOT MY FAULT. I was writing the chapters and I had a ton written then my junk computer died and lost EVERY single file on my computer, so now I'm all depressed. But back to the point, I have a couple of ideas for new stories, and I really don't want to have ALL of these, so I'm keeping 'Mike's Stupidity' (Because it was the most fun to write) and one other, and then I'm going to delete the rest of the stories. **

**And I need you guys to help me pick which one to keep. Whichever has the most reviews even if you just leave one saying 'satihor;dln' or something but whichever gets the most on THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE CHAPTER I will keep. But I really don't want to finish Unexpected Changes, I wrote the whole thing a while ago and not only do I not remember a lot of it, it was boring to write. I think MPH would be a good one to keep, but it is actually up to you guys!**

**Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to help, it means a lot!**

**Deadline for reviews: Wednesday, July 11, 2007**


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